When a busload of seniors from a suburban Nashville church head down the Natchez Trace on a carefree journey to The Big Easy, they are unaware that a Mafia hit squad is playing a deadly game of tag with them. All except one passenger. The man they know as Bryce Reynolds is really Pat Pagano, a World War II Medal of Honor winner and successful Las Vegas stockbroker who was lured into handling investments for a New York crime family. After his two grown sons are killed in an attack by a rival gang and his wife succumbs to cancer, Pagano decimates the mob with his testimony in federal court. He disappears, then resurfaces in Nashville as Reynolds, a retired businessman from Oklahoma. But after years of searching, an old Mafia capo tracks Pagano to the church bus en route to New Orleans.
Targeted Age Group:: Adults
What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
Hellbound is based on a trip I took with a church group similar to the one in the story. I added the Mafia angle and the two main characters to provide tension and an exciting plot. But the details of the bus itinerary, places it stops and the activities in New Orleans mirror the actual trip. In addition to the Mafia angle, my trip differed in the hurricane at the end. Fortunately, we didn’t encounter that one. Some of the minor characters closely resemble people on the bus. It was fun to write.
